JabariOnTheBeat is a name that becomes easier and easier to identify as the days go by. The 20-year-old producer is continuing to grow on YouTube with his own unique sound while attracting producers from all walks of life and experience levels. Being from New York, he's worked with several contemporary names and legends like Snoop Dogg, Lil Keed, and BlocBoy JB to name a few.
In our recent chat, we spoke with the Brooklyn-native about hits from Mozzy, J.I., and sewerperson to name a few. Check out the conversation below.
J.I - "20K (Intro)"
"20K" is personally one of my all-time favorite records sonically and because of what it represents. The collaboration came about by chance. VVS Melody sent me the daily pack of loops and I was playing through them. J.I. had just gotten to the studio just walked through the door and it was the 3rd loop in the pack. Without any hesitation, he started freestyling to the loop, and while he was freestyling/writing I just started making the beat itself. I did my little secret sauce here and there and I finished the beat in about 15-20 minutes, and then I decided to mix in the toms at the beginning to move away from a traditional sound and do something unorthodox. I then half timed the melody VVS sent so as to provide a smooth transition from the beginning of the song, to the hook, to the verse. I just jumped between regular time and half time to give it that emotional J.I. feel.
Mozzy - "The Homies Wanna Know"
This is my favorite beat I ever made of all time. I made this beat for YouTube originally. At this time, I was completely dominating the “Drake type beat” lane and I was just having fun being able to be creative. I was surfing through R&B channels listening for relatively underground music to sample (that’s my style), and I came across “Emanny - Think About Me”. The first 10 seconds EXACTLY were perfect. It was so emotional, and vintage, and storytelling. It was like something Boi-1da would find and flip so I downloaded the song and chopped the first few seconds. I then laid my drums over it: some super simple drums, but the drum selection was the most important. I picked some very organic sounds, I did some effectrix on the hi-hats, made another pattern of hi-hats just to give the beat some room, followed the bass line ingrained in the sample and boom “The Homies Wanna Know” was made and super well received.
sewerperson - "k"
The Comet album that “k” is a part of is a classic itself. I produced every song on it, but “k” is definitely one of the most stands out tracks on it. It has the perfect Toronto feel and vibe and makes a whole new sound for sewerperson. The beat started with a sample loop from my close friend Red. It says “Between Us” over and over in the sample, so I went from a drum pattern similar to Drake’s “Successful”. For the intro I had the kicks act as the snares and then for the verse I replaced a few kicks with snares. I had the bass line pop during the hook, and I made the hi-hats only last until the first snare to make the whole beat super emotional. Sewer ended up bodying it. One of his best performing tracks to date.
J.I. - "Used To"
For this beat, I was doing my usual R&B digging and I found Kawelo's "Shaded." I liked the first 7 seconds but after that, it became more of a pop-ish sounding record, so I downloaded and chopped it. I made a beat out of it that went viral on YouTube and eventually got used in another placement with another artist, but Palaze, heard the beat itself on YouTube and asked me to send him the sample I chopped. I sent it and he did the drums you hear on “Used To”. The rest is history. “Used To” came into existence, and Drake co-signed it a few months later, and it was just added to one of OVO’s mixes the other day.
Mozzy - “I’ll Never Tell Em’ Shit”
The sample I used in J.I.'s "Used To” appears in this song. In fact, this song came out before J.I.’s. This was my very first major placement, and the song did amazing. The digging through underground talent brought me to my sample “Kawelo - Shaded”. However, my take on the drums for this beat was more mellow and bouncy. I made one set of hi-hats a consistent two-step, and another set under these hi-hats was a four-step. This gave it the illusion of a fast-paced beat, and then just something to keep the tempo bouncy. I used wood blocks for the snares, followed the bass line of the sample, and added an open hat at the end of every bar. Mozzy did his thing and now it sits in his catalog as a classic song.
